Patients with psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, ulcerative colitis and vasculitis are among those set to benefit from the latest listings.
Rheumatology patients across multiple diseases will have new options this month after multiple medicines were newly listed across spondyloarthritis and vasculitis.
Both updadacitinib (Rinvoq) for non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis and tofacitinib(Xeljanz) for ankylosing spondylitis have been amended to remove the grandfather restriction.
Etrasimod (Velsipity), which reduces inflammation in the bowel, will be listed for the first time to treat patients with ulcerative colitis. Without subsidy, the drug costs around $18,000 per year of treatment.
Avacopan (Tavneos) has been PBS-listed for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis, to be used in combination with a rituximab or cyclophosphamide-based regime.
To be eligible, patients must have ANCA-associated vasculitis that active and either life-threatening or organ-threatening. Patients cannot have more than 12 months of treatment per induction, but doctors can apply for more than one induction treatment for each patient.
Also added to the PBS are:
- Icosapent ethyl (Vazkepa) for statin-treated patients with cardiovascular disease, the first reimbursed treatment in Australia to reduce the risk of a second heart attack or stroke in patients with high triglycerides.
- Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) which is used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma in combination with venetoclax (Venclexta). Imbruvica blocks certain proteins, helping to kill and reduce the number of cancer cells and without subsidy costs around $190,000 over the entire course of treatment.
- Eylea (aflibercept) 8mg, a high-dose eye injection for wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema.
